Who is the author of the fairy tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. Tragic Event, Creation of the "Lord of the Fleas"

December 24, house of medical adviser Stahlbaum. Everyone is preparing for Christmas, and the children - Fritz and Marie - are guessing what the inventor and artist godfather, senior court adviser Drosselmeyer, who often repaired the clock in the Stahlbaums' house, will give them as a gift this time. Marie dreamed of a garden and a lake with swans, and Fritz said that he preferred gifts from his parents that he could play with (the godfather’s toys were usually kept away from children so that they wouldn’t break them), but the godfather couldn’t make a whole garden.

In the evening, the children were allowed to see the beautiful Christmas tree, near and on which there were gifts: new dolls, dresses, hussars, etc. The godfather made a wonderful castle, but the dolls dancing in it performed the same movements, and it was impossible to get inside the castle, so The children quickly became tired of the miracle of technology - only the mother became interested in the complex mechanism. When all the gifts were sorted out, Marie saw the Nutcracker. The ugly-looking doll seemed very cute to the girl. Fritz quickly broke a couple of the Nutcracker's teeth, trying to crack the hard nuts, and Marie began to take care of the toy. At night, the children put their toys in a glass cabinet. Marie lingered at the closet, accommodating her charge with all the comforts, and became a participant in the battle between the seven-headed mouse king and the army of dolls led by the Nutcracker. The dolls surrendered under the pressure of the mice, and when the mouse king had already approached the Nutcracker, Marie threw her shoe at him...

The girl woke up in bed with her elbow cut by broken cabinet glass. No one believed her story about the night's incident. The godfather brought the repaired Nutcracker and told a fairy tale about a hard nut: the king and queen gave birth to the beautiful princess Pirlipat, but Queen Myshilda, avenging the relatives killed by the mousetraps of the court watchmaker Drosselmeyer (they ate the lard intended for the royal sausages), turned the beauty into a freak. Now only the cracking of nuts could calm her down. Drosselmeyer under threat death penalty With the help of the court astrologer, he calculated the princess's horoscope - the Krakatuk nut, split by the young man using a special method, will help her regain her beauty. The king sent Drosselmeyer and the astrologer in search of salvation; both the nut and the young man (the watchmaker's nephew) were found with Drosselmeyer's brother in his hometown. Many princes broke their teeth over Krakatuk, and when the king promised to marry his daughter to the savior, his nephew stepped forward. He cracked the nut and the princess, having eaten it, became a beauty, but the young man could not complete the whole ritual, because Myshilda threw herself at his feet... The mouse died, but the guy turned into the Nutcracker. The king expelled Drosselmeier, his nephew and astrologer. However, the latter predicted that the Nutcracker would be a prince and the ugliness would disappear if he defeated the mouse king and a beautiful girl fell in love with him.

A week later, Marie recovered and began to reproach Drosselmeyer for not helping the Nutcracker. He replied that only she could help, because she ruled the kingdom of light. The Mouse King got into the habit of extorting Marie for her sweets in exchange for the safety of the Nutcracker. The parents were alarmed that there were mice. When he demanded her books and dresses, she took the Nutcracker in her arms and sobbed - she was ready to give everything, but when there was nothing left, the mouse king would want to kill her herself. The Nutcracker came to life and promised to take care of everything if he got the saber - Fritz, who had recently dismissed the colonel (and punished the hussars for cowardice during the battle), helped with this. At night, the Nutcracker came to Marie with a bloody saber, a candle and 7 golden crowns. Having given the trophies to the girl, he led her to his kingdom - the Land of Fairy Tales, where they got through her father's fox fur coat. While helping the Nutcracker's sisters with housework, offering to crush caramel in a golden mortar, Marie suddenly woke up in her bed.

Of course, none of the adults believed her story. About the crowns, Drosselmeyer said that this was his gift to Marie for her second birthday and refused to recognize the Nutcracker as his nephew (the toy stood in its place in the closet). Dad threatened to throw away all the dolls, and Marie did not dare to stutter about her story. But one day, Drosselmeyer’s nephew appeared on the threshold of their house, who privately admitted to Marie that he had ceased to be the Nutcracker, and made an offer to share the crown and throne of Marzipan Castle with him. They say she is still the queen there.

The Nutcracker ballet is one of the most popular and commercially successful productions in the world. Millions of people watch the magical fairy tale about the victory of love and light over the forces of evil and darkness on New Year's Eve. Of course, it’s a tradition to dress up and go to the theater with the whole family to admire again good fairy tale about Masha and the Nutcracker and listen to magnificent music, especially strong in the homeland of the author of the music and the very first production - here in Russia.

On New Year's Eve and on New Year's Eve itself, many families have a long-standing tradition of congratulating each other in the magnificent festive decoration of the theater, to the immortal and enchanting music of Tchaikovsky.

The musical fabric of the ballet is incredibly bright and imaginative: expressiveness is not inferior to figurativeness, very subtly and accurately conveying by melodic means the development of the plot and the characters’ characters wonderful fairy tale. How the wonderful ballet was created, which productions are considered the most successful - and interesting facts about “The Nutcracker”.

The history of the ballet

In 1890, P. I. Tchaikovsky was asked to write a one-act opera and ballet - it was assumed that both works would be performed on the same evening. The composer began working together with choreographer Marius Petipa - they constantly discussed the smallest details of the future production. Pyotr Ilyich continued to work on music even while traveling by ship to the USA - he took part in the opening of the famous Carnegie Hall.

By February 1892, the performance was completely finished - the Russian Musical Society very favorably accepted the premiere of the suite from “The Nutcracker”, and the first production on stage Mariinsky Theater took place in December of the same year

Literary basis of the plot

The primary source is Hoffmann’s fairy tale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” published in 1861. According to it, the girl Marichen Stahlbaum receives a rather ugly doll as a gift - nutcrackers. At that time in Germany it was believed that nutcrackers brought good luck to the home, so giving them as a gift was quite common.

At night, the Nutcracker comes to life and enters into battle with a horde of mice. In the morning, godfather Drosselmeyer told the girl a mysterious story about his nephew, who was bewitched by the cruel Mouse King. Then Marichen and her dolls Clara and the Nutcracker are attacked by mice again - after defeating them, they go together to the magical kingdom, where the girl becomes a real princess.

On French The fairy tale was translated by Emile Labedollier, and then the creator of “The Three Musketeers”, Alexandre Dumas, worked on the artistic adaptation and colorization of the translation. It was his version that was taken as the basis when working on the ballet.

Performance at the Mariinsky Theater

“The Nutcracker” and the opera “Iolanta” were shown before the New Year at the Mariinsky Theater - Vsevolozhsky designed the costumes, and R. Drigo conducted the productions. The public liked the opera better, and critics generally received the premiere rather coolly. Since then, these two works have never been staged in the same program.

Nevertheless, the production remained in the Mariinsky repertoire for another three decades - and quite soon the airy, light and melodic performance became very popular with the public, and the tradition of giving minor roles students of specialized institutions remained from the time of the ballet's premiere and has survived to this day.

“The Nutcracker” at the Bolshoi Theater

The Bolshoi staged the ballet 27 years after the Mariinsky Theater - already in a country destroyed by revolution and war - but even then the production was done on a grand scale. In the first version of 1919, the stage was designed as a huge table on which stood a coffee service, and dancers fluttered out of it as the plot unfolded. The scenery was painted by the artist Konstantin Korovin, and the choreography was then staged by Alexander Gorsky.

The Moscow version of the ballet had the most resounding success - it was “The Nutcracker” staged by Yuri Grigorovich that triumphantly toured the whole world - since 1966 this ballet has not left the Bolshoi Theater repertoire.

“The Nutcracker” on the world stage

The ballet has been successfully performed on the stage of other countries for more than a century - the costumes and interpretation of the choreography in different productions differ, but it still remains the festive and magical “Nutcracker”. One of the brightest and most notable versions is from choreographer George Balanchine. New York audiences saw it for the first time in 1954, and since then the number of fans of this production has only been growing.

The music of P. I. Tchaikovsky’s ballet was also used to create full-length cartoons of magical beauty: in 1940, the Walt Disney studio released the film “Fantasia,” and Boris Stepantsev created an animated film based on Hoffmann’s fairy tale - many generations of Soviet children grew up on it.

The first production of the ballet at the Mariinsky Theater amazed the audience primarily with the power of the orchestra's sound. Special attention attracted the celesta instrument.

The “Coffee” dance is based on an ancient Georgian folk lullaby, and during the mesmerizing dance of snowflakes, confetti slowly falls onto the stage - its total weight is about 20 kg.

During the entire performance, approximately 150 different costumes are changed, and about 60 people must always be behind the scenes to change equipment, apply makeup and change dancers’ outfits.

Dancer Frank Russell Galey became the oldest performer of the role of the Nutcracker - at the time of the performance he was 74 years and 101 days, which is an absolute record for an active ballet soloist in history.

The famous blond prankster from “Home Alone” Macaulay Culkin was also a Nutcracker - he played two roles in the Hollywood ballet film, in addition to the role of a wooden doll, he had the opportunity to play Drosselmeyer’s nephew in the film adaptation stage version Balanchine.

Conductor Stephen Richman managed to persuade the famous jazzman Duke Ellington to do the incredible - to release his own original interpretation of ballet music. The double disc was released in 1960 and was called The Nutcracker Suites. In the first part you can hear a traditional suite, while in the second Ellington, together with his colleagues in the jazz workshop, perform their original arrangements. The key role in them is given to the clarinet, trumpet, saxophone and piano. Despite the unexpected sound, the suite has not lost any of its festiveness, lightness and charm.

The Nutcracker Story November 4th, 2012

While in Germany, you probably noticed a wooden Nutcracker among the souvenirs. In November, traditional Christmas markets will open, where the Nutcracker will again be among the top sellers, this is without a doubt, because the tradition of giving the Nutcracker at Christmas is already 300 years old! And, as they say, “this is not a lot of fun!”))) Shiny with varnish, in a cocked hat and an elegant uniform, with a beard made of rabbit fur, with a small pigtail at the back, with a saber and a warlike jaw, but with a completely harmless function ( crack nuts)), glorified by Hoffmann and Tchaikovsky, the nutcracker is the best Christmas gift for most Germans, and of course, us tourists (regardless of the holiday)))). Let's delve into its history...

The Nutcracker's birthplace is a small German town-village in the Ore Mountains, not far from the border with the Czech Republic - Seiffen. The town is famous for its folk crafts and the art of wood carving. It is here, in the ancient workshops of Seiffen, that the German Nutcrackers are born.
Once upon a time, grains of pure tin rolled along the bottom of streams in the Ore Mountains. Miners built stepped dams from stones, caught light gray beads, melted them in crucibles and made tin utensils that were popular at that time. This is where the name of the village came from - Seifen, which means “to wash”, “to wash”.
For a long time winter evenings miners loved to sit in the warmth of home, carving a funny little animal, a hero, from a fragrant wooden block of wood folk tale, an evil neighbor who looks like a witch, or hated oppressors - a prince, a baron, their zealous lackeys, beating out the last penny from a poor miner with a whip. The greedy oppressor was depicted with a toothy, huge, gluttonous mouth. Some cheerful carver came up with a mischievous idea - to make the wooden monster crack nuts. Let him work hard and make the miners laugh! This is how the Nutcracker was born - a wooden caricature doll - a king and a bollard, a robber and a gendarme, a manufacturer and a world-eater. With a caricatured painted face and a pompous uniform!

In 1699, Johann Heemann, a peasant from Seiffen, loaded a hand wheelbarrow wooden toys his fellow villagers and drove it along winding mountain paths and potty country roads to the fair in Leipzig. He walked with the wheelbarrow almost three hundred kilometers back and forth, but returned happy - he sold the toys at a profit. And customers especially liked “Zubastic”. Since then, every real, self-respecting master in the village had to make his own Nutcracker.
It is also known that during the Second World War, the Nutcracker came overseas - American soldiers willingly sent it as a gift to their children: in their understanding, the Nutcracker symbolized strength, protection and brought good luck.
So I saw one of the Nutcrackers in early XIX century, the wonderful German storyteller Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann. And his imagination created a magnificent fairy tale, the hero of which was the Nutcracker. The fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" (German: Nußknacker und Mausekönig) was first published in 1816.

Its main characters are a girl named Marichen Stahlbaum (later, when translated, she was called Clara, Maria, and simply Masha) and strange toy— nutcrackers in the shape of a soldier, the same legendary Nutcracker that Marichen was given by her godfather, the storyteller Drosselmeyer, on Christmas Eve. Nobody around, of course, guesses, and only a wise storyteller knows that in fact the Nutcracker is not an ugly toy, but a handsome prince bewitched by the mouse queen Myshilda...
This is the most New Year's fairy tale of all!)))

Then this fairy tale struck the imagination of a little Russian boy, who, when he grew up, became a brilliant composer and created a magnificent ballet based on “The Nutcracker” (the first production took place in 1892). I'm talking about P.I. Tchaikovsky, if anyone hasn’t guessed yet.))) And still ours Bolshoi Theater The December playbill cannot do without this performance. Anyone who has seen it knows how magnificent it is (I had the honor to witness this))))!

By the beginning of the 20th century, Nutcrackers began to look like gloomy old soldiers, foresters, policemen and firefighters. And with the light hand of master Richard Langer (1887-1957) in the 1910s, the Nutcracker became a stocky little man with a round button nose and a cocked hat.

Today in Seiffen there is a Nutcracker Museum, where the largest Nutcracker in the world is located, and this fact is included in the Guinness Book of Records! The names of outstanding legendary masters have also been preserved here: the old woman Augusta Müller, her nephew Karl Müller, the Füchtner family, the very first of whom, according to legend, was the creator of the Nutcracker... In a word, the whole history of the Nutcracker is “first-hand.”)))

So, if you are still without the Nutcracker, now you know what you need!)))) I have it.))))

Thanks also for the information

Hoffman - famous storyteller, whose name is familiar to both children and adults. Everyone remembers who wrote The Nutcracker. Many people understand that Hoffmann was not just a writer, but a real magician. Well, maybe ordinary person create such wonderful stories out of nowhere?

Birth of a writer

It is generally accepted that wizards are born wherever they wish. Ernst Theodor Wilhelm (as his name sounded at the beginning of his life) was born in a beautiful city called Königsberg. On that day the church honored St. John Chrysostom. The father of the future writer was a lawyer.

Hobbies of young Hoffmann

From an early age Ernst fell in love with music; it was his outlet. Later, he even changed his name, and from Wilhelm turned into Amadeus (that was Mozart’s name). The boy played the organ, violin, and piano, wrote poetry, and was interested in painting and singing. When he grew up, his parents left him no choice, and the guy had to continue family tradition- become an official.

Study and work

Ernst listened to his father, studied at the university and worked for a long time in various judicial departments. He couldn’t settle down somewhere: he endlessly traveled around Polish and Prussian cities, sneezed in dusty document depositories, dozed at court hearings and drew caricatures of his colleagues in the fields. important papers. At that time, he could not even dream that one day he would become famous and everyone would know who wrote The Nutcracker.

Berlin and Bamberg

The hapless lawyer repeatedly tried to quit his job, but to no avail. One day he went to the capital of Germany to study painting and music there, but did not earn a penny there. Then he went to a small town called Bamberg, where he worked as a conductor, composer, decorator, theater director, wrote essays and reviews for a newspaper about music, tutored and even sold pianos and sheet music. However, neither big money, the author of the fairy tale “The Nutcracker” never received any fame.

Dresden and Leipzig, the creation of the "Golden Pot"

One day, Hoffmann realized that he could no longer stay in Bamberg, and went to Dresden, from where he soon followed to Leipzig, almost died from a bomb explosion during one of the final Napoleonic battles, and then...

Probably, this can be called the favor of fate or the help of John Chrysostom, but one fine day Ernst took a pen, dipped it in ink and... Suddenly the ringing of crystal bells was heard, emerald snakes moved on the tree and the work “The Golden Pot” was created. The year was 1814.

"Fantasies in the manner of Callot"

Hoffmann finally realized that his destiny lay in literature; the gates of an amazing and magical country opened before him. However, it is worth noting that he wrote before, for example, in 1809 “Cavalier Gluck” was created. Soon, entire notebooks were filled with fairy tales, and then they were included in the book “Fantasies in the Manner of Callot.” Many people liked the works, and Hoffmann immediately gained fame. Even now, if you ask modern child, who wrote "The Nutcracker", he will most likely answer correctly.

Great mystery

Hoffmann said that he, like a child born on Sunday, notices what is not seen ordinary people. The author's stories and fairy tales could be funny and frightening, kind and terrible, but the mystical in them appeared unexpectedly, from the simplest things, sometimes as if out of thin air. This was great secret, which the writer was the first to comprehend. Gradually, Hoffmann became more and more famous, but this did not add money to him. Therefore, the storyteller again had to become an adviser to justice, this time in the capital of Germany.

Creation of famous works

The author of The Nutcracker called this city a human desert; he felt very uncomfortable here. However, it was in Berlin that almost all of its famous works. These are “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, “Night Stories” (they will take your breath away), “Little Tsakhes”, “Everyday views of the cat Murr”, “Princess Brambilla” and others. Over time, Hoffmann made friends with the same rich inner world and developed imagination as himself. They often had serious and funny conversations about psychology, art and much more. And it was on the basis of these conversations that the four volumes of The Serapion Brothers were created. By opening any of these books, you can find out who wrote the Nutcracker included in one of them. The author's name appears on the first page.

Tragic Event, Creation of the "Lord of the Fleas"

Hoffmann had many new ideas and plans, the service did not take very much time, and everything would have gone well if not for one tragic incident. The writer once witnessed how they wanted to put an innocent man in prison, and he stood up for this man. But the police director named von Kamptz was infuriated by this act. Moreover, the brave author of The Nutcracker portrayed this unjust man in the work The Lord of the Fleas, which was written in 1822. He gave him the surname Knarrpanty and described how he first detained people and then charged them with suitable offenses. Von Kamptz was simply furious and turned to the king with a request to destroy the manuscript of this story. So a lawsuit was initiated, and only the help of friends and a serious illness helped the writer avoid unpleasant consequences.

End of the road

Hoffman lost the ability to move, but until the end he believed in recovery. At the end of his life, the story “Corner Window” was created - the last gift to the writer’s admirers. But the vast majority of people remember him thanks to the famous Christmas tale that won many hearts. By the way, many children learn about who the author of “The Nutcracker” is at school.

Most famous work

Separately, it should be said about the work “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, included in the book “The Serapion Brothers”. This tale is best read at Christmas as it takes place during this time. Hoffmann was inspired to create this masterpiece by the children of his friend Julius Hitzig, whom he met in the capital of Poland. The German writer awarded the characters of his work with their names and some personal qualities. When the fairy tale was ready, the author himself read it to the children. “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” is a great work, they thought.

Marie Hitzig, who in the fairy tale bears the surname Stahlbaum, unfortunately died early. And her brother named Fritz, who gave commands to the tin soldiers in The Nutcracker, trained as an architect and became the director of the Academy of Arts located in the capital of Germany.

We are just puppets...

Have you ever wondered why a toy became the main character of the work? It’s just that the writer, who was interested in theater for some time, was close to puppets and dolls. His friend said that Hoffmann had a whole closet full of toys. The writer believed that people are just puppets, and Fate itself pulls the strings, which is not always favorable to us. He often repeated that everything would be as the gods wanted.

So you remembered who wrote the fairy tale “The Nutcracker”, which your parents probably read to you.

About the product

Hoffmann published the fairy tale “The Nutcracker” in 1816 in the collection “Children's Tales.” When creating a work for a writer great influence provided by the children of his friend, who bore the names Marie and Fritz. This is exactly what Hoffmann called his main characters.

"The Nutcracker": summary. The beginning

It is December 25th, the children of Stahlbaum, a medical adviser, Marie and Fritz, are sitting in their bedroom and waiting for gifts that stand under the Christmas tree in the living room. The girl eagerly wants to know what her godfather will come up with for her this year - he made a toy for Marie every Christmas with his own hands. However, the girl understands that her parents' gifts are much better, since they are not taken away immediately after the holiday.

Children find many gifts under the tree. Among other things, Marie notices a toy designed for cracking nuts, which was made in the form of a smartly dressed man. At this moment we meet the main character of the fairy tale “The Nutcracker”. The summary, unfortunately, cannot convey the girl’s joy at the sight of this toy. Marie took him under her wing and allowed him to crack only the smallest nuts. However, Fritz deliberately selected the largest and hardest ones, which led to damage to the toy. Then the girl hid the Nutcracker from Fritz and carried it with her all the time.

The Mouse King Appears

We continue to describe summary"The Nutcracker". One evening Marie plays with dolls for too long. Her brother goes to bed, the girl remains alone in the room. When the clock strikes midnight, a muffled rustling begins in the living room, and mice appear from everywhere. A huge seven-headed mouse wearing crowns emerges from under the floor - the Mouse King. Marie presses herself against the wall in fear. The mouse army begins to attack her.

Marie breaks the closet door, scaring the rodents. But the broken cabinet immediately begins to glow. The toys come to life. The Nutcracker gathers an army and leads it into battle with the mice.

The battle begins. At first, the army of toys moves forward successfully. But gradually the mice begin to win. The toys suffer heavy losses, and their generals retreat. The Nutcracker ends up in the clutches of the enemy. The Mouse King rushes at him, but Marie, wanting to save her favorite toy, throws her shoe right at the leader of the rodents.

After this, the girl loses consciousness.

Fairy tale

The work “The Nutcracker” tells the story of a little girl (a summary is presented in this article).

So Marie regains consciousness in her bed. Next to her is Dr. Wendelstern. A mother appears and scolds the girl for her self-will. Marie learns that she was found covered in blood among scattered toys, and she was clutching a Nutcracker in her hand. The adults, having heard the girl’s story about what happened at night, thought that she had imagined everything.

Marie spends several days in bed. The godfather comes to the girl and brings the “cured” Nutcracker. He asks Marie to forget about the mice and tell a story.

"The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" has interesting structure. Essentially, this is a fairy tale within a fairy tale. This technique is typical only for literary work and is impossible in folk art.

The story of the little princess Pirlipat begins. A holiday was being prepared in the kingdom, but the mice climbed into the pantries and ate the lard for the sausages. The court watchmaker Drosselmeyer set mousetraps in which many rodents died. Then Myshilda, the mouse queen, turned the princess into an ugly creature. Then the court astrologer calculated that only the Krakatuk nut, which could be cracked by only one young man, could restore the beauty of Pirlipat.

Drosselmeyer and the astrologer soon found the nut. But not a single prince managed to gnaw it. Then Drosselmeyer's nephew took up the matter. The young man helped the princess regain her beauty, but Myshilda prevented the completion of the ceremony. The old mouse died, but turned the young man into the Nutcracker. The astrologer predicted that the young man's curse would end the moment he fell in love beautiful girl, and he will defeat the Mouse King.

Marie's torment

Marie believes that this story really happened. Now she understands why the Nutcracker and the Mouse King had to fight. The Mouse King comes to the girl and begins to blackmail her, demanding sugar dolls and marzipan. Then Fritz invites his sister to borrow the baker’s cat for a while, and his father asks him to simply set up mousetraps.

The Mouse King torments Marie again. He asks her to give him a beautiful Christmas dress and a picture book. Then the girl complains to the Nutcracker - soon she will have nothing left, and then she will have to give herself up. After this, the toy comes to life and asks him not to worry about anything and get a saber for him. The next night, the Nutcracker challenges the Mouse King to a fight, wins and brings Marie his seven crowns.

Denouement

The fairy tale “The Nutcracker” is coming to an end. The main character, in the guise of a doll, leads Marie to the wardrobe, from where they find themselves in magical land. The Nutcracker takes the girl to the Pink Lake and introduces her to her beautiful sisters, whom she helps pound golden nuts in a mortar.

Marie wakes up and her parents laugh at her bizarre dreams. One day, while talking with her godfather, the girl admits that she would never have abandoned the Nutcracker because of her ugliness. After these words, a crash is heard. In fright, the girl falls from her chair. The curse is broken. A beautiful young man appears in front of Marie, who proposes to her, and a year later they leave for the Doll Kingdom.

The heroine of the fairy tale “The Nutcracker”

Marie is a little girl who is full of compassion, kindness, determination and courage. She is the only one who manages to unravel the true essence of the Nutcracker. That is why Marie takes the toy under her protection. The girl's sincere feelings save the main character.

Further productions of the ballet The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker is recognized as a masterpiece of world ballet; the ballet has been repeatedly staged on famous stages around the world. Ballet Nutcracker listen it was possible in different cities peace.
Here are some of the most famous productions:
1919 - Moscow, Bolshoi Theater. ( ballet Nutcracker Bolshoi Theater) Choreographer Alexander Gorsky, artist K. Korovin, invited conductor N.A. Fedorov, Clara was played by V. Kudryavtseva, Fritz by Shokorov 2nd, The Nutcracker by E. Efimov, Drosselmeyer by A. Bulgakov. In the 1919 production, the stage was set in the form of a set table. The dancers emerged from a huge coffee service.

1923 - Leningrad Kirov Theater ( ballet The Nutcracker of the Mariinsky Theater). Productions by L.I. were resumed. Ivanov with the original decorations. The choreographers were A.V. Shiryaev and F.V. Lopukhov, conducted by A.V. Gauk; The Sugar Plum Fairy was played by E. Gerdt, Prince Whooping Cough by M. Dudko, Drosselmeyer by N. Solyannikov.

1929 - Leningrad Kirov Theater (Mariinsky Theater under the USSR). New edition. The choreographer is F.V. Lopukhov, conductor - A.V. Gauk, artist V. Dmitriev; Masha is played by O. Mungalov, the Nutcracker by P. Gusev, Drosselmeyer by L. Leontyev.

1932 - Moscow, production of the Bolshoi Ballet College. L.I. becomes the choreographer. Ivanov, conducted by Yu.F. Fire, stage designer - Panfilov; Clara is played by E. Farmanyants, the Nutcracker by Y. Papko, Fritz by Y. Gerber, Drosselmeyer by A. Chekrygin, and the Sugar Plum Fairy by O. Lepeshinskaya.

1934 - Leningrad Kirov Theater (Mariinsky Theater under the USSR), choreographer of the performance V.I. Vainonen, becomes conductor E.A. Mravinsky, invited artist I.F. Seleznev; Masha is played by G.S. Ulanov, The Nutcracker - K.M. Sergeev.

1939 - Moscow, Bolshoi Theater. V.I. becomes the choreographer. Vainonen, conducted by Yu.F. Fire, new artist - V.V. Dmitriev; Masha was played by M. Semenov, the Nutcracker by A. Ermolaev, Drosselmeyer by V. Ryabtsev.

1954 - New York, New York City Ballet. The ballet master of the play is George Balanchine. The New York production has become a real long-lived performance; it has been shown at Christmas for over fifty years in a row. This “Nutcracker” has changed more than one generation of both performers and spectators. Initially, Balanchine staged the ballet as a children's ballet, so the main dance parts in it were given to adult artists: Prince Whooping Cough (Orshad) and the Sugar Plum Fairy (Sweets).

1967 - Paris, Ballet Royal de Suède. Choreographer: Rudolf Nureyev.
Ballet performances of The Nutcracker were subsequently filmed several times. Cartoons based on Tchaikovsky's music were made. In 1940, Walt Disney used fragments of music from the ballet when creating the cartoon Fantasia. Nowadays, music from The Nutcracker can often be heard on television.

Today popular search queries are: ballet nutcracker download, ballet nutcracker watch, ballet nutcracker video, pictures of ballet nutcracker or ballet nutcracker online. Why? Because this performance has become a recognized classic. Of course, today is not difficult ballet Nutcracker download - music or video from the Internet. But it's better watch the Nutcracker ballet live. Photos and videos will not convey the impression of a live performance by the troupe. So at least download waltz from the Nutcracker ballet It’s not difficult, you’d better go to the theater. If the composer knew that it would be possible download video ballet Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky I would be very surprised.
The Nutcracker's music, which has already become a classic, is now being used to create variations with completely different plots (for example, the 1999 productions by Maurice Bejart in France and Matthew Bourne in England in 2003).
Bejart's performance deviates far from the original plot, but is still considered an improvisation classical dance. Bourne's choreography doesn't pretend to be him at all. Nevertheless, both ballets have received recognition, they are quite interesting and have earned the love of the audience, therefore they require some attention.
Bejar's Nutcracker came to light in 1999. In the background modern dance Maurice Béjart tells his biography in French to classical ballet music. However, the language of dance and plastic arts makes the performance understandable to everyone.
The Nutcracker, choreographed by English choreographer Matthew Bourne, the genre is completely different. It was installed at Sadler's Wells. IN The Nutcracker Bourne action moved to orphanage for the street children of Dr. Dross. This production of Bourne caused a lot of controversy. He was called “strange” and “unexpected”, or even simply “who knows what” and, by the way, in all languages. However, one of the critics identified Bourne's work (specifically in this production) as worthy of a modern viewer. It is not customary to make significant changes to classical ballet; this genre is extremely conservative. Because besides classic productions of the Nutcracker Today non-classical ones are appearing. Matthew Bourne staged his ballet using modern technology dance: contemporary and jazz. Resorting to classical music, which has been heard millions of times in theaters, Bourne performs something unusual with it. He interprets it in his own way, writing a new fairy tale, new ballet Nutcracker 2014 year.

Ballet Nutcracker enriched the world musical and theatrical culture, became the brightest page of Tchaikovsky’s legacy. He became the embodiment best moments musical dramaturgy of the late nineteenth century. To today the ballet is staged on theater stage all over the world. And if you haven't seen it yet ballet The Nutcracker, then urgently visit the theater to personally enjoy this great ballet production.

Ballet extravaganza in two acts and three scenes

The two-act ballet “The Nutcracker” was commissioned from Tchaikovsky by the directorate imperial theaters at the beginning of 1891. Soon the composer received from Petipa a written detailed program for The Nutcracker. And on February 25, Tchaikovsky already reported in one of his letters that he was working on the ballet “with all his might.” and in January-February 1892 the ballet was already ready and fully instrumented .

The music of “The Nutcracker” was first performed on March 7, 1892 at one of the St. Petersburg symphony concerts of the Russian Musical Society (RMS). According to the composer’s brother, “the success of the new work was great. Of the six numbers in the suite, five were repeated at the unanimous request of the public.”

The theatrical premiere of the ballet, which took place on December 6, 1892 in St. Petersburg on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater, was also a success. The director of The Nutcracker was D. Ivanov, who replaced the seriously ill M. Petipa at the beginning of work on the play. The scenery of the first act belonged to K. M. Ivanov, the second - to academician of painting M. I. Bocharov. The costumes were prepared according to the sketches of I. A. Vsevolozhsky. The day after the premiere, the composer wrote to his brother: “Dear Tolya, opera and ballet had yesterday great success. Everyone especially liked the opera... The staging of both is magnificent, and in the ballet it is even too magnificent - the eyes get tired of this luxury.” But press reviews were far from unanimous. Among the statements about music, along with the most enthusiastic ones, there were also the following: “The Nutcracker” “did not bring anything except boredom”, “its music is far from what is required for ballet” (“Petersburgskaya Gazeta”).

The libretto of “The Nutcracker” was composed by M. Petipa based on the famous fairy tale by E. T. Hoffmann “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” (from the series “Serapion’s Brothers”) in the French adaptation by A. Dumas. The libretto falls into two very separate parts, different in style and artistic merit. The first act - children's scenes in Zilbergaus's house - is organically connected with the world of Hoffmann's fairy tales, full of originality and subtle theatricality. The second act - “the kingdom of sweets” - bears a noticeable stamp of the obsessive “luxurious” spectacle of old ballets, violating the modesty and fairy-tale conventions of the narrative of the last chapters of “The Nutcracker” (“The Puppet Kingdom”, “Capital”). And only the richness and imaginative content of Tchaikovsky’s music make it possible to forget about the spectacular excesses of this action. As B. Asafiev correctly noted, the composer here overcame the traditional ballet “ trifle“, because wherever possible, “he smuggled in the line of symphonic development.” (B.V. Asafiev. Selected works, vol. IV. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, M., 1955, p. 107).

In its general ideological meaning, Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” has much in common with his other ballets: here is the same basic motive of overcoming “evil spells” with the victorious power of love and humanity. Unkind hostile to man personified in the images of the mysterious magician Drosselmeyer, the owl on the clock and the mouse kingdom. They are contrasted with the world of a child's soul - still timid, fearful, but precisely because of this it is especially touching in its cordiality and instinctive desire for good. Clara's tender devotion defeats Drosselmeyer's witchcraft, frees the beautiful young Nutcracker from captivity, and affirms light and joy.

The second act of the ballet is a final festive divertissement that has grown to grandiose proportions. Its main part is a motley gallery of characteristic dances, where Tchaikovsky’s inexhaustible imagination and brilliant skill were revealed. Each of the characteristic miniatures of this suite is a new, original discovery in the field of instrumentation. “Sultry” and languid sound of strings in oriental dance, the piercing whistling melody of the piccolo flute in the toy “Chinese” dance, the melting crystal chords of the celesta in the variation of the Sugar Plum Fairy - all this makes up the unique originality and special charm of the Nutcracker score.

The composer's concern was the invention of special timbre effects that could convey all the fabulous originality of the second act of the ballet. In this regard, apparently, he drew attention to the then recently invented celesta. Tchaikovsky was one of the first to introduce symphony orchestra transparent, “melting”, truly magical sound of celesta. In "The Nutcracker" along with celesta big role Other timbres and timbre combinations also play (in particular, the choir of children’s voices in “Waltz of the Snowflakes”), creating the impression of a fairy-tale enchantment. Children's children add a characteristic color musical instruments, used by Tchaikovsky in the scenes of the sick Nutcracker rocking (lullaby from No. 5) and the battle of the mice with the toy soldiers (No. 7).

Among the colorful divertissement miniatures of the second act of the ballet, “Waltz of the Flowers” ​​and “Pas de deux” stand out for their monumentality. Both are among the outstanding examples of great symphonized Tchaikovsky's dance. In both, the enormous emotionality clearly does not fit within the plot and “overwhelms” them like torrent. This is especially felt in the music “Pas de deux"with its powerful and majestic major in the extreme parts and a flash of sorrow in the middle episode.

The score of “The Nutcracker” entered musical culture as one of the most precious pages of Tchaikovsky’s legacy. Here, with classical clarity and completeness, the best features of his musical dramaturgy and his mature symphonic art were combined.

Characters:

President Zilbergauz

Clara [Marie], Fritz - their children

Marianna, niece of the president

Councilor Drosselmeyer, godfather of Clara and Fritz

Nutcracker

Sugar Plum Fairy, mistress of sweets

Prince Whooping Cough [Orshad]

Majordomo

Columbine

Mother Zhigon

Mouse King

Relatives, guests, costumed children, servants, mice, dolls, bunnies, toys, soldiers, gnomes, snowflakes, fairies, sweets, moors, pages, princesses - the Nutcracker's sisters, clowns, flowers and others.

The music of the overture immediately introduces the listener to the world of images of The Nutcracker. The drama plays out among children and dolls. Everything here is miniature, mobile, naively graceful, everything is childlike, concrete, there is a lot of cheerful and crafty play and toy mechanicalness. A presentation of two themes and a modestly varied repetition of them (exposition and reprise) - this is the laconic form of the overture, corresponding to the general expressive, precise and concise style of the children's scenes of The Nutcracker.

The first theme is a fast, light march, later decorated with transparent variation patterns. The second theme is more melodious and freely lyrical. Its relationship with the first is felt as an expressive contrast between “action” and an ardent childhood dream.

Act one

Scene I. Living room in the Zilberghaus house.

Scene of preparation for a children's party. The owners of the house and guests decorate the Christmas tree. Servants serve food. New guests arrive all the time, and the excitement intensifies. It strikes nine. With each strike, the owl on the clock flaps its wings. The music at the beginning of the scene conveys a cheerful and cozy atmosphere of a home holiday. The theme of the striking clock sounds with mysterious chords and fancy bass clarinet moves.

Finally, the tree is decorated and lit. Children run in in a noisy crowd. They stop, admiring the decorations and bright light. The owner of the house orders marches to be played and begins distributing gifts.

The procession of young guests receiving gifts is accompanied by the characteristic music of the “children's march”. Here, as in the overture, one can feel the miniature and elastic lightness of children's movements, naive seriousness and boyish enthusiasm. After the gifts are distributed, the dancing begins.

The short gallop of children is followed by slow dance in the movement of a minuet: the entrance of smartly dressed guest parents. After this, a lively dance Allegro is performed in tarantella rhythm.

A new guest appears in the hall - Councilor Drosselmeyer. He instills fear in children. At this moment the clock strikes again and the owl flaps its wings. The children huddle close to their parents in fear, but the sight of the toys that the guest brought gradually calms them down.

The mysterious guest orders two boxes to be brought: from one he takes out a large head of cabbage - this is a gift for Clara, from the other - a large pie, this is for Fritz. The kids and the adults look at each other in surprise. Drosselmeyer, smiling, orders both gifts to be placed in front of him. He starts the mechanisms, and to the great surprise of the children, a doll comes out of the cabbage, and a soldier comes out of the pie. The animated toys are dancing.

The new wind-up dolls perform a “devil dance” with music that is bizarrely edgy and a little mysterious.

The children are delighted; Clara and Fritz want to take possession of the new toys, but Zilberghaus, fearing for the integrity of the expensive gifts, orders them to be taken away. To console the children, Drosselmeyer gives them a new funny toy - the Nutcracker: they can play with it.

The waltz-like music of the first part of the scene is replaced by a graceful polka, illustrating the game with new doll. Drosselmeyer shows how the Nutcracker deftly cracks nuts. New toy Clara especially likes it, she feels pity and tenderness for the clumsy Nutcracker, she would like to take him and not give him to anyone. But the parents explain that the doll does not belong to her alone. Clara watches in horror as Fritz stuffs a large nut into the Nutcracker's mouth and the poor wooden doll's teeth break with a crash. Fritz throws the toy with a laugh. Clara picks up her pet and tries to console him.

Now the polka music (its chorus) loses its playful dance character and becomes childishly plaintive and heartfelt.

The girl rocks the sick Nutcracker to sleep, singing him a gentle lullaby, and mischievous Fritz and the boys continually interrupt her with the noise of drums and trumpets. The ensemble playing on stage includes children's trumpets and drums. The note to the score says: “In addition to these two instruments, children in this place, as well as in the next, similar one, can make noise through other instruments used in children's symphonies, such as cuckoos, quails, cymbals, etc. ." (P.I. Tchaikovsky. Complete collected works. vol. 13 (a), p. 131). This scene is accompanied by light and fragilely transparent lullaby music.

The owner invites the guest parents to dance. The old, rather heavy German dance “Grossvater” follows.

It's time for the children to go to bed. Clara asks permission to take the sick Nutcracker with her, but she is refused. She carefully wraps her favorite doll and sadly leaves. The theme of Clara’s lullaby sounds in calm and affectionately “sleepy” music.

The empty room is illuminated by moonlight pouring from the window. Everyone in the house has already settled down, but Clara wants to take another look at the sick Nutcracker and quietly makes her way into the living room. She's scared. She carefully approaches the doll's bed, from which, as it seems to her, a fantastic light is emanating. Midnight strikes, and the girl notices that the clock has turned into Advisor Drosselmeyer, who is looking at her mockingly. She hears mice scratching, and now the whole room is filled with mouse rustles and fussy running. Clara wants to take the Nutcracker with her and run, but her fear is too great, and she sinks helplessly into a chair. Night ghosts instantly disappear. The music of Clara’s night wanderings is acutely disturbing and ghostly, like vague visions flashing in a dream. It depicts the unfaithful reflections of moonlight trembling on the floor, and the strange transformation of an owl into a magician (Drosselmeyer's theme in a new, bizarre version), and the alarmingly fussy fuss of mice.

The moon, which had disappeared, illuminates again room. It seems to Clara that the tree is gradually beginning to grow and becomes huge, and the dolls on the tree come to life. In the music of this scene there is a grandiose rise in sonority, clearly illustrating Clara’s vision. At the same time, this is an expression of feelings, at first timid and mournful, like a passionate plea for freedom, then more and more blossoming and bright. The main theme of this episode develops in the form of “steps” rising to an infinite height.

Scene. War of toys and mice. The soldier sentry calls out: “Who’s coming?” Having heard no answer, he shoots. The dolls are scared. The sentry wakes up the drummer hares, and they sound the alarm. Gingerbread soldiers appear and line up. There is revival in the mouse army. The first battle begins. The mice win and greedily eat the gingerbread soldiers. Then the Nutcracker, despite his wounds, gets out of bed and convenes his old guard: tin soldiers come out of the boxes and form into regular squares. The Mouse King himself becomes the head of the enemy army. The second battle begins. This time the mice's attacks are unsuccessful. Their king enters into single combat with the Nutcracker and is ready to kill him, but at that moment Clara throws a shoe at the Mouse King, and the Nutcracker, taking advantage of the enemy’s confusion, plunges his sword into him. The mouse army scatters in fear. The Nutcracker turns into beautiful young man-prince. He kneels before Clara and invites her to follow him.

The music of this scene depicts all the vicissitudes of the toy war. There is a shout and a shot from a sentry, a combat alarm from the drummers (the drum roll is performed on two tamburiconglii- a children's percussion instrument - “rabbit drum”), and then the battle itself begins, where the sounds of toy fanfares are intertwined with the squeaking of mice.

After the first attack, the music expressively conveys the battle calls of the Nutcracker and the appearance of the terrible king of mice at the head of the enemy army. This is followed by a second battle, even more exciting, but ending suddenly. The bright ending depicts the wonderful transformation of the Nutcracker into a prince.

Dwarfs with torches line up under the trees. They greet Clara and the handsome young man accompanying her. The music of the light Andante sounds, reminiscent of the gradual increase in sound power and brightness of colors of the episode of Clara’s “vision” from the previous picture.

Large flakes of snow are falling. A whirlwind arises and the snowflakes spin quickly. Gradually the snowstorm subsides, the light of the moon sparkles on the snow. In this episode, danceability is combined with bright pictures: the music depicts a light and slightly ghostly whirling of snowflakes in the diffused light of the moon. At the same time, this is also a “picture of mood”, where the anxiety and charm of Clara’s magical dream are expressed. The main, restlessly flickering theme of the waltz is remarkable.

The middle part of the waltz is brightly contrasting. The gloom of the anxious night suddenly dissipates, and the wonderful bright singing of children's voices sounds (the choir is behind the stage).

The choir's melody is repeated several times and is accompanied by fantastically colorful variations from the orchestra. The color of the music constantly brightens and reaches an extremely airy sonority in the last variation with the crystal ringing of a triangle. The waltz ends with a widely developed coda, where the main theme runs through the racing rhythm of the gallop.

Act two

The beginning of the action is preceded by a symphonic introduction. Festive music shimmers with a rainbow play of colors and airy flowing passages of harps and celestas. The development of this music, becoming increasingly lighter and sparkling, is illustrated by the following scene.

In the fairy-tale kingdom of sweets, Prince Nutcracker and his deliverer Clara are awaiting the return. A magnificent celebration is being prepared. The Sugar Plum Fairy, her accompanying Prince Whooping Cough and her retinue leave the sugar pavilion. Fairies and various sweets bow to her, silver soldiers salute her. The mistress of the fairies asks that the guests be given a worthy welcome.

Clara and Prince Nutcracker sail along the river of pink water in a golden boat. The sound of the orchestra creates the impression of water jets sparkling in the sun. In the program that guided the composer, this scene is described as follows: “The river of rose water begins to visibly swell and on its raging surface Clara and the beneficent prince appear in a shell chariot strewn with stones, sparkling in the sun and drawn by golden dolphins with raised heads. They (dolphins) throw up columns of sparkling streams of pink moisture, falling down and shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow.” Here, according to the program, “the music expands and arrives like raging streams.” Guests are greeted by little Moors in costumes made of hummingbird feathers and emerald-ruby pages with torches. They are joyfully greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her retinue, the princesses - the Nutcracker's sisters and the majordomo in a suit of gold brocade. The scene of the meeting of guests is illustrated by a new musical episode: an elegant and welcoming dance in the movement of a waltz.

The Nutcracker introduces his companion to the sisters. He talks about the battle with the mouse army and about his miraculous deliverance, which he owes only to Clara. The music of the Nutcracker story is full of passionate inspiration. In the middle part, where the events of the disturbing night are recalled, the theme of the “war of mice and soldiers” is heard again.

Trumpets signal the beginning of the celebration. At a sign from the Sugar Plum Fairy, a table with luxurious dishes appears. The majordomo orders the start of the dancing.

Bravura, brilliant dance in the Spanish style. The main theme is the solo trumpet.

Against a monotonous, barely flickering background (sustained fifths for cellos and violas), a gentle melody of the violins emerges. The composer used here the melody of the Georgian folk lullaby “Iav nana” (“Sleep, violet”), a recording of which he received from M.M. Ippolitova-Ivanova. This is the world of “sultry”, refined and bewitching lyrics of slow oriental dances. According to the librettist's definition, “sweet, enchanting music.”

While maintaining a constant bass background, the composer enriches the music with more and more colorful details and wonderful melodic patterns. In the middle part of the dance, exquisite chromaticisms and subtle vibrations of modal shades characteristic of oriental music appear. In the reprise, the combination of the main theme (in the thick vibrating voice of the strings) and the languid chromatic moves of the oboe sounds beautiful: as if a lonely voice is thoughtfully improvising on the theme of the song.

The music is unusually characteristic in its choice of timbres and presentation. The abrupt thirds of the low bassoons and against this background the piercingly whistling melody of the piccolo flute with the caustic and jumping continuation of the pizzicato strings - all this creates the impression of an original comic toy. It seems as if funny porcelain figurines are dancing.

Lively, brightly temperamental dance in Russian folk style. Towards the end it speeds up and ends with a real whirlwind of dance movement.

According to the librettist, the toy shepherdesses “dance, playing on pipes made of reeds.” A remarkable discovery of the composer is the main theme of the dance: the pastoral melody of three flutes. Its beauty is inseparable from the nature of the instrument: as if the very soul of the flute has infused this music, light and moving, like the breeze in the “ringing wells of empty reeds.”

A fast and sharply rhythmic dance of the Polichinelles, followed by a more moderate tempo comic dance of Mother Zhigon with her children crawling out from under her skirt; then a general group dance to the music of the Polichinelles.

Little man in gold brocade (majordomo) claps his hands: 36 dancers and 36 dancers dressed in flowers appear. They carry a large bouquet which they give to the bride and groom. After this, a common big waltz begins.

“Waltz of the Flowers”, along with the following “Pas de deux”, is the pinnacle of the festive divertissement of “The Nutcracker”. The waltz begins with an introduction with a large virtuoso harp cadenza. The main theme is assigned to the horns. Dominating throughout the entire waltz as an expression of its main mood - lush and solemn festivity - this theme, however, serves only as the first step in the ladder of melodic beauty that the composer’s imagination erects here. Already in the middle of the first part of the waltz, the music becomes more melodious. In the second (central) part, the composer gives us new, even broader and melodically fascinating themes: the melody of flutes and oboes (at the beginning of this part) and the continuing, lyrically rich melody of cellos. After the repetition of the first part of the waltz (reprise), there follows a conclusion where familiar themes develop, acquiring an even more lively and wildly festive character.

The scene begins with “colossal effect” (M. Petipa) Adagio. The significance of this Adagio is not only and not so much in its volume and external monumentality of sound, but in the internal emotional fullness and content, in the powerful force of symphonic development. Only thanks to these properties, Adagio dramaturgically “wins” next to the lush and, it would seem, culminating in emotionality “Waltz of the Flowers”. The first theme of Adagio is bright and triumphant. In the middle part the melody of a beautiful elegiac song sounds. This simple lyrical tune serves as the beginning of a new, richest phase of symphonic development. In the process of development, the elegiac image becomes more and more active and, at the same time, mournfully dramatic.

The theme of the first movement of Adagio runs through the harsh sound of trumpets and trombones: now it takes on a new look, reminiscent of the themes of gloomy and inexorable “sentences of fate” so typical of Tchaikovsky. The third movement of the Adagio is a repetition of the first in a new, even brighter and more elegantly festive presentation with a broad, pacifying conclusion.

The Adagio is followed by two solo variations and a general coda.

The dancer's variation is a tarantella with an imprint of soft sadness, unusual for this ebullient dance.

The ballerina's variation - Andante with a transparent, "melting" sound of celesta - is one of Tchaikovsky's most amazing coloristic discoveries. The idea of ​​this play was partly suggested by the program of Petipa, who wanted to hear “the falling of drops of water in the fountains.” Tchaikovsky's image, as always, turned out to be more psychological than pictorial. External coldness, a mysterious muted feeling, and somewhere in the depths there is tremulous excitement, anxious alertness - this is how I would like to define the complex emotional content of this lyrical miniature. In it, as in many episodes of the ballet, the richness and versatility of the concept of “The Nutcracker” are revealed: through the innocent fairy tale, the children’s idyll, the diversity of the theatrical spectacle, deep layers of the truth of life shine through - the bright dream is shaded by the first anxieties, sorrow and bitterness invade the boiling of young forces.

- all the participants in the previous scene dance.

and apotheosis. The common final dance of all participants is “fascinating and hot” (M. Petipa).

The waltz turns into serenely bright music of apotheosis, completing the entire ballet.

©Inna ASTAKHOVA

Based on materials from the book: Zhitomirsky D. Ballets by P.I. Tchaikovsky. Moscow, 1957.